KNICKS CROWN NELSON COACH OF NEW YORK

After saying he would trade in his coaching sneakers for "some of them Guccis," he promised to run, gun and have fun. There is indeed a new sheriff in town.

Don Nelson took over New York's basketball team on Thursday, and you may want to take a long, hard look at the Knicks today. They are not likely to be the same tomorrow.

Nelson, three times the NBA Coach of the Year and a man who has guided his teams to 50-victory seasons nine times, signed a 3-year contract that will pay him nearly $6 million in base salary. With his hiring, the Knicks ushered in a new coaching era and put behind them four successful but sometimes trying years under Pat Riley.

Nothing personal, said Nelson, but Riley had his way of doings things and Nelson has his own. The main thing, said Nelson, 55, is that they find a way to bring home a championship banner to Madison Square Garden.

Nelson, too, is trying to move on from a season of frustration marked by poor health and a well-publicized feud with Chris Webber that led to Nelson's forced resignation from the Golden State Warriors.

"I never lost my desire," he said. "I've always believed, deep down, that coaching is still what I'm best at. I'm rested and ready to go."

On the surface, the Knicks are getting a coach five years older and with five fewer championship rings than Riley. Look deeper, however, and there is a man who desperately wants another chance to prove his worth.

Nelson spoke candidly about his feud with Webber, said all the right things about joining the Knicks and was fairly original. For the most part.

"To be in New York, there's no place like New York, and if you can make it here I can make it anywhere," he said, deadpan, to a room full of laughter. He admitted he may have to make some wardrobe adjustments but seemed to take on the challenge of coaching in New York as more of a privilege than an albatross.

Asked about the pressure to win that accompanies any coaching job in New York, Nelson's message to the fans was: "I'm glad you're used to it, because you're going to get more of it," he said.

Nelson will try to become the 10th man to win championships both as a player and coach. With a record of 817-604 in 17 1/2 seasons, he is sixth on the league's career list of coaching victories. After 11 seasons in Milwaukee and 6 1/2 at Golden State, he is also the only coach with more than 800 victories and no championship ring.

He won five as a player with the Boston Celtics and he knows that his mandate here is to capture a championship, something the Knicks haven't accomplished since 1973.

"I've never won a title as a coach," he said. "That burns inside of me. It's the one thing I want. And this organization is ready for it. I think with the situation we've got here, we can stay on top. We've got a nice blend of older and younger players."

Nelson, who has been without a dominant big man since Bob Lanier in Milwaukee, relished the idea of working with All-Star center Patrick Ewing. He also promised that the Knicks would be in for some stylistic changes, including a high-octane offense he hopes will score more and run in the open floor.

"I'm going to make some changes I hope everyone will like," he said. "We'll have fun, but there will also be hard work and discipline."